… living the beautiful tension between what is, and what will be …

Calvary’s Love

I was recently asked to write a short essay on my favorite quotation and how it had impacted my life.

“There is a lot of quotes that have challenged me over the years, but I think the one that has impacted me the most is from Amy Carmichael.

‘ “If the praise of other elates me, if the blame of others depresses me, if I love to be loved more than to give love, if love to be served more than to serve, If I can not rest when I am misunderstood without defending myself- than I no nothing of Calvary’s Love”’.

The last line is what grips me – ‘than I know nothing of Calvary’s Love’. I love people and in certain areas struggle with people pleasing. When I’m striving to gain approval from people, I’m striving to fill a need only the Lord can fill. I want to be so secure in the Lord’s love for me that I don’t need man’s approval in order to be validated. When I grasp different aspects of what Calvary’s Love means in my life, I weather life’s storms a lot better! I’ve realized I will never find a love that completes me in human relationship, be it platonic or romantic. The Lord’s love for me is the only one that meets the deep need I/we have to be loved.

Not desperately searching for relationships or things to fill that need, has freed up so much time and energy! I’ve tried to take the time and energy and use it to minister to people by showing them what Calvary’s Love means to me.To me Calvary’s Love is security, it’s peace, it’s forgiveness, it’s a challenge, it’s service, it’s way more than I can ever understand. Every time I get to a place where I think I know what it means, the Lord calls me deeper or shows me another side and meaning of that love. It’s exciting and all encompassing and I want more of it!In order for me to be an effective leader or witness for Christ, I must first grasp what His love means.”

So how about you? What are your favorite quotes and how have they challenged you?

One thought on “Calvary’s Love”

I'm not sure I could pick just one. I am a quote collector. A few favorites: Men occasionally stumble over the truth, but most of them pick themselves up and hurry off as if nothing ever happened.Sir Winston Churchill-a reminder of how blind and stupid we humans- myself included- can be.this one is at or near the very top of my list:You will not grow if you sit in a beautiful flower garden, but you will grow if you are sick, if you are in pain, if you experience losses, and if you do not put your head in the sand, but take the pain as a gift to you with a very, very specific purpose. -Elisabeth Kubler-Rossan eloquent statement of the truth, and a reminder I often need.the last two are favorites probably because I am a product of the old "protestant work ethic", and they are straightforward and make sense to me.-We cannot all do great things, but we can do small things with great love. – Mother Teresaand last but not least:-“Do all the good you can,By all the means you can,In all the ways you can,In all the places you can,At all the times you can,To all the people you can,As long as ever you can.”-John Wesley